


Road To Redemption

by thatsnotmyname32



Series: Semi Precious [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Anbu Haruno Sakura, F/M, Kannabi Bridge Mission, Papa Minato, Sakura's Nearly Got Zetsu, Time Travel Fix-It, other tags too, there will be flashbacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:27:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25214644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsnotmyname32/pseuds/thatsnotmyname32
Summary: As a mission meant to end the war takes place, a woman thought dead reappears. Her own mission is still incomplete, but can she redeem her current failures and stop a great evil from being reborn? And will she be able to return to a waiting family, one that she’d left behind? MinaSaku. Sequel to An Exchange & Truth and Consequence.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Namikaze Minato
Series: Semi Precious [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820068
Comments: 23
Kudos: 177





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final in the trilogy-or-more, depending on how this goes. I don't know how often it'll get updated. Unlike the previous one, I don't have every chapter planned out to the last detail, just a basic plot I'm following, like with most of my stories. :P

It had been five years since Minato had met Sakura, four since she'd left the village with his daughter, and one since his sensei had brought his daughter home to him, _without_ her mother.

Now, his long time student had been promoted to jounin. Kakashi had taken the one on one exam to qualify, and had passed with flying colours. Minato was immensely proud of him, and quite worried for him at the same time. Kakashi was so young for the promotion, but so proud of himself for his achievement. So he treated him to his favourite food for a celebratory dinner, and kept his worries to himself.

Kakashi would be annoyed if he knew.

At this moment, he was standing in the Hokage's office. He and several others, including Kakashi, were being debriefed on a mission, one that had several parts to it, and required several teams. And it seemed, one of the missions was going to put the newly minted jounin that was his beloved student to the test. Destroy Kannabi Bridge. Minato himself had a different mission, though he was to see Kakashi, Obito, and Rin so far, before joining others on a front-line mission.

"Everyone is clear on what they have to do?" Sarutobi asked, and they all nodded. "Dismissed. Oh, but Minato, stay a moment, would you?"

Once everyone was gone, Minato stood alone in the room, bar the Hokage. The old man regarded him thoughtfully, before asking, "What are your thoughts on Kakashi's capability of leading his mission?"

Minato raised a brow. "I have confidence in him," he said, wondering where this was going.

The Hokage sighed. "I honestly wanted a more experienced team on this," he confessed a moment later. "The mission requires going behind enemy lines, something that really should have been assigned to a more experienced jounin. But I simply do not have the current resources to do so. All of my ANBU are busy, and the best of the jounin are either already on missions, or are going on this mission in other forms."

Minato nodded understandingly, even though he agreed with the Hokage on his points. A more experienced team _would_ be a better choice, but as he said, his options were limited. Sarutobi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"He's not going to be happy with me," he muttered, and Minato said nothing despite his curiosity, because he figured he wasn't supposed to hear that. Then Sarutobi looked up at him. "Make sure you're ready tomorrow morning. And make sure that Kakashi and the others understand the importance of their mission. You're dismissed."

Minato left the Hokage office, a little confused, a little concerned, and more than a little hyper-aware of everything that could go wrong on the mission. He headed home, intent on getting ready. Once there, he opened the door, only to have a small body crash into him.

"Papa! You're home!"

Minato laughed and picked his daughter up, hugging her tight. "Hey munchkin," he greeted. "What have you been up to today?"

Naru started to prattle on and on about what she'd been doing, from colouring, to reading, to doing stretches with one of the gennin that had been assigned as babysitters for the day. She babbled incessantly even as said gennin came up to them. Apparently, she had a very good time with this lot.

"She was a very good girl," the kunoichi of the team, an Akimichi, told him. "No trouble at all."

"That's good, thank you," Minato said. "You can head up to the mission desk and collect your pay."

The gennin bowed, then filed out.

Minato spent the rest of the afternoon getting Naru to help him prepare his mission pack, subtly teaching her at the same time. Then they prepared her own bag that she would take over to the Inuzuka compound, where she'd be staying with her "bestest friend in the world" Suzu, Takeo's daughter. Takeo and his wife Hiromi often looked after Naru when Minato had a mission.

Dinner was a 'grand affair', with Obito and Rin joining them. Minato told them a little about the mission, saying that they'd be briefed more fully on it on the way tomorrow. They left after a few hours, with Rin calling out to Obito, "Don't forget your present for Kakashi's promotion to jounin tomorrow!"

Obito muttered under his breath before kissing Naru noisily on the cheek (causing the girl to giggle madly) then waving to them both as he left. Then Minato and Naru grabbed her bags, and walked over to the Inuzuka compound. Hiromi met them at the door, with Suzu running through their house to come greet her friend.

"Be a good girl, alright?" Minato said as he knelt to hug his daughter. "Make sure you do what Hiromi tells you, and don't pull on Kaji's tail."

Naru let out a sigh. "Yes, daddy," she said, then kissed his cheek. "See you when you get back."

Then she and Suzu ran off, no doubt going to the latter's room.

"Be safe, Minato," Hiromi said. "And make sure my lout of a husband doesn't screw your mission up too badly."

"I heard that woman!" came the loud voice through the house, and Minato and Hiromi grinned.

Going back to an empty house was rather depressing, but he needed to sleep. He was getting a very early start in the morning, just one of the reasons why Naru went to the Inuzuka tonight, instead of at breakfast. So he got ready for bed, and as his head hit the pillow, he found himself wishing, not for the first time, that his daughter could have had _both_ of her parents with her.

OoOoO

_Jiraiya and Sakura were tracking Black Zetsu through Grass country this time. Naru was with a trusted contact of Jiraiya's so there was nothing to hold either of them back if they managed to finally track him. For the last three years, they'd been working on a seal that would actually contain the will of Kaguya, and they'd embedded a tanto with a variation of several different Uzumaki seals that Jiraiya had access to._

" _Can you sense anything?" Jiraiya asked._

 _Sakura's brow was furrowed in concentration. Finally, she shook her head. "This damned thing's too unreliable," she complained, rubbing at a seal that Naruto'd_ _given_ _her before she'd come back. "I've got the feeling I'll have to be practically right on top of that bastard before it actually works. Dammit! Why couldn't you have taught sealing to Naruto properly!?"_

" _Hey! Don't blame_ me _for that!" Jiraiya said, hands up defensively._

_Sakura sighed. "Right, sorry," she said._

OoOoO

The next morning, Team Minato headed off. The air of anticipation was broken only by the occasional glower that Obito sent Kakashi's way. As they travelled, Minato filled them all in properly on the mission, which turned their mood even more sombre. They camped overnight (with Minato explaining a few things about Kakashi to Obito) then were off again the next morning.

The time came finally for them to separate, and after one last check through on the mission specs, Minato left his team behind. He tried hard to ignore the bad feeling he had, and utilised the hiraishin sealed kunai he'd given Takeo to catch up with his comrades. The Inuzuka almost leapt out of his skin when Minato suddenly appeared next to him.

"Dammit, Minato!" he barked. "Can't you have like a… a… I don't know! Something so you're not so close when you show up? You almost stepped on my foot!"

"Aw, you poor baby!" one of the others snarked, and they all chuckled even as a sulky Takeo handed Minato's kunai back to him.

"Alright," drawled an impatient Nara. "Now that we're _all_ here, how about we get started? The main front is half a day from here. Ready? Good. Let's move out."

OoOoO

_They were still no closer, even though it had been several days. Yet, Sakura could feel it in her gut that they were almost there._

" _He's got to be here somewhere," Jiraiya muttered. "Where's that damned tree that guy talked about?"_

_Sakura just shrugged as she scanned the landscape. "I wonder what Zetsu's got planned, now that he doesn't have Madara?"_

_Jiraiya shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "Ah-ha!_ There's _the kami forsaken tree! Come on, lets go see if we beat him here or not."_

_They rushed over to the tree, and Sakura used Naruto's seal to check for Black Zetsu's chakra. But then she pulled back and shook her head. "There's nothing," she said._

" _That means we're ahead of him_ _for_ _once," Jiraiya noted._

_They stared at one another with a growing sense of triumph._

OoOoO

Rin had been kidnapped.

Obito had run off, determined to rescue her, and now Kakashi was catching up on his team mate, Obito's words finally getting through his skull. He didn't need to summon Pakkun to track his team mate, the idiot had left a discernible trail behind, obviously too worried about Rin to hide his tracks better.

When he caught up, Obito was already fighting. Kakashi jumped into the fray without a second thought, helping his… friend.

"That's the last for now," he said, then turned to Obito, only to do his best not to gape.

"What?" Obito demanded.

Kakashi pointed to his eyes. "Your sharingan," he said. "You've got your sharingan."

Obito's eyes widened as he brought his hand up to stare at it, then he turned his head to look around them. "I have my sharingan," he said, almost in awe, then grinned. "Perfect! Now nothing can stop us from rescuing Rin!"

He took off then, and Kakashi sighed as he leapt after him. "Wait up! Idiot…"

They had to fight two more times, and once, Kakashi almost lost an eye, but Obito was there, kicking the enemy out of the way. "Thanks," he said, his voice in a pant.

But then, right in front of the cave that Kakashi could smell and sense that Rin was in, they were ambushed by more than they could handle. Yet, before they could even raise a kunai or tanto, a blur shot across, taking the Iwa ninja out with ease. For a moment, Kakashi thought perhaps it was sensei, they were so fast! But a second look and he saw that it was an ANBU, and a woman at that. Definitely not sensei then.

She whirled on them once the enemy were down. "What the _hell_ are you two doing here?" she demanded.

Obito was busy gaping at her, so Kakashi said, "We're on a mission. But one of our comrades was kidnapped, she's being held in that cave."

He pointed to the cave, and the ANBU sighed. She turned sharply toward it, her long, loose, brown hair flipping expertly in a way that reminded him of a Hyuuga (is that who she was? she didn't smell like one). "You two wait here, I'll go get her," she said, unsheathing a tanto and vanishing into the cave.

They heard the sound of fighting, then a low rumble in the earth. A mere half a second before the cave collapsed, and the ANBU shunshined out, Rin slumped over her shoulder.

"She's under a genjutsu," the ANBU said as she lowered her to the ground and against a tree.

She held up her fingers in a hand sign, then tapped Rin's temple lightly. Rin stirred, opened her eyes, stared up at the ANBU, and then belatedly started in fright.

"Relax," the ANBU said as Rin glanced over and saw Kakashi and Obit were there, and only relaxed because of that.

The ANBU then got to her feet. "Well, you three have a mission to complete, I suppose," she said. "Kannabi Bridge is that way," she pointed in the direction of the bridge. "Good luck, you'll need it."

She took off in the opposite direction and Obito breathed, "She was so _cool_."

Kakashi couldn't help but agree.

OoOoO

 _He was_ right there _. Jiraiya activated the seals they'd placed around the area, even as Sakura leapt out, tanto at the ready. Black Zetsu_ barely _dodged her strike, pulling back from where he'd been about to sink into the earth in an attempt to escape, but she pressed on, relentless. Jiraiya joined the fray, and soon, they had Zetsu on the defensive._

_Sakura sliced off his right arm, then stabbed it with the tanto, absorbing the limb. Zetsu hissed at her, even as he regrew the missing limb._

" _You can't beat me!" he hissed, then shot past them to attack one of the seals that was preventing him from escaping._

" _No!" Sakura yelled, rushing forward._

_Zetsu impaled her then with his arm, straight through her spine. He grinned maniacally at her as she fell to the ground, eyes wide and staring down at her mortal wound._

" _That's one worm back in the_ _dirt where it belongs_ _," he hissed_ _as she fell lifeless to the ground_ _,_ _then turned his leering yellow eyes to Jiraiya. "You're next if you pursue me, Sage."_

_He broke the barrier then, and escaped._

OoOoO

The battleground was cleared when he felt it. Kakashi had used his kunai. Minato quickly excused himself and used his hiraishin to flash to his student's location. He arrived expecting to find them in some trouble, but it seemed that he'd somehow missed the show. A few dozen dead Iwa-nin lay around him, and his kids…

"Sensei!" Kakashi exclaimed, and Minato saw that his kunai was embedded in a tree, possibly thrown out of frustration.

"What happened?" Minato asked. "Why aren't you already at Kannabi?"

"Rin got kidnapped!" Obito pipped up, Rin nodding next to him. "We went after her, and there were all these Iwa-nin along the way, more than expected. Then an ANBU turned up and killed this lot, and got Rin out of the cave for us! Then she told us to get back to our mission and left!"

Obito was gesticulating as he spoke, pointing to Rin, to a nearby collapsed cave, then off in a direction that he assumed the ANBU had gone. It was strange, the Hokage had mentioned that there were no high level shinobi available to do this mission instead of his students, and he frowned in the direction Obito had indicated. He reached out with his chakra to see if he could find this mysterious ANBU, and when he located their chakra signature, rapidly heading north east, he lost the ability to breathe.

He _knew_ that chakra.

 _Sakura_.

But…! That was impossible! She was dead! Minato swore he was about to hyperventilate, alongside not being able to breathe. He felt the overwhelming urge to follow after her, to _demand_ to know why…

"Sensei?" Rin asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Are… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Minato somehow managed to get out, and he reluctantly turned his attention back to his team. "But there's still a mission to complete. Let's go."

When he got back to Konoha, he and sensei were going to have _words_.

OoOoO

_Jiraiya carried her back to their encampment. He laid her out on a sleeping bag, then sat back and waited. Eventually she startled awake, coughing and clutching at her stomach. Her yin seal burned past the jutsu that had been hiding it these past years. Sakura sat up abruptly, coughing up a little blood, even as her stomach, throat, and mouth all glowed green with her healing chakra._

" _Hime, how are you doing?" Jiraiya asked._

 _She glared at him. "I just got skewered by a malevolent creature of chakra, how do you_ think _I feel?" she growled at him._

_Jiraiya sighed in relief at her tone and attitude, and he grinned. "You're fine," he said. "But now, Black Zetsu thinks you're dead. He has no idea of your history, your medical capabilities."_

_Sakura nodded, her expression thoughtful. "Plan C then?" she suggested._

" _Plan C," Jiraiya agreed. "Fake it 'til you make it!"_

_He grinned, and she punched him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to note, Obito activated his sharingan in that initial fight, because he was a little overwhelmed, and the stress of the fight caused it. That's my head canon for this. There were more Iwa ninja there than in canon, and it's all because someone saw a Konoha ANBU lurking in the area. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a mission meant to end the war takes place, a woman thought dead reappears. Her own mission is still incomplete, but can she redeem her current failures and stop a great evil from being reborn? And will she be able to return to a waiting family, one that she'd left behind? MinaSaku. Sequel to An Exchange & Truth and Consequence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi-hi! New chapter!
> 
> So, every time I write lately, it feels forced. So I had a break.

Blowing up Kannabi Bridge was easy compared to actually getting there. There were still a heck of a lot of enemy ninja around, but it was _expected_ here. The amount they'd faced before that, hadn't been factored into the mission briefing. Minato suspected that either they were tipped off, or perhaps the ANBU's… _Sakura's_ … presence might have been responsible.

Shaking his head to dismiss any thoughts of that wayward woman, Minato signalled to Obito and Kakashi, both of whom nodded and dashed forward. Obito kept a look out while Kakashi planted the explosive seals, and once they were done, they returned, and the four of them moved on to the next section of the bridge. Just over ten minutes of laying the explosives, and they were activating them from a safe distance.

They used the chaos to get out of there unnoticed. Minato had left a couple of markers along the way, and they used these to put significant distance between them and the enemy. At the last marker, they fell into a defensive formation, and practically bolted over the border and into Fire Country. It was only once they were over the border that they allowed themselves a reprieve to relax.

The nearest border station was their destination. With everything that had happened, Minato could tell that all three of his students were exhausted. So he herded them in that direction, and when they arrived and he gave the signals necessary to prove that they were really who they said they were, and not infiltrators, he had them immediately sent to the station's bunk, and he ordered them to get some sleep.

Minato himself collapsed onto a chair in the mess area, closing his eyes and taking a deep, shaky breath. Today had been… The only word for it was exhausting. He was physically spent, emotionally burned out, and his chakra could do with a night's sleep to replenish. Yet even then, he still dug deep to find the energy to summon a messenger toad to him.

"Yo!"

It was Gamataka who appeared. "I need you to get a message to the Hokage," Minato told the blue and green toad. "Tell him that Kannabi Bridge is no more, and that my team is resting up at outpost 73. We'll head back to the village in the morning."

"Will do, Minato-san!" the toad saluted, and was about to leave, but Minato stopped him.

"Wait!" he called. "Do you know where Jiraiya-sensei is right now?"

"Hmm…" Gamataka seemed thoughtful. "Nope, sorry," he said. "Did you want me to get a message to him, though?"

"Tell him we need to talk," Minato said. "Tell him it's about… Actually, just tell him the first bit, that we need to talk."

"Okay, is that everything?" Gamataka asked, and when Minato nodded, he saluted again, and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Once he was alone, Minato leaned his elbows on the table before him, burying his face in his hands. He _really_ wanted to just get up and head back into Grass Country and _track_ Sakura down to demand answers. But he really couldn't just leave like that, there was no telling how much trouble he'd get into for basically going awol. He still needed to get Kakashi, Obito, and Rin home, and give the Hokage a report in person.

And sleep. He really needed to sleep. Standing, he headed into the bunks, and claimed a sleeping roll. Obito was already fast asleep and snoring. Rin also, though her snores were lighter, and more like heavy breathing than actual snores. Kakashi made no noise as he slept. Minato closed his eyes and allowed his muscles to relax, then his breathing to slow, and soon, he too was fast asleep.

OoOoO

Two countries away, Sakura was cursing mentally, as she couldn't do it out loud where she was. She was hidden in the shadows, having followed at a certain distance as the white zetsu she'd tracked met up with the Will of Kaguya. She was covered in seals, all to make sure that Zetsu neither sensed nor recognised her.

Jiraiya had gone through all the seals Naruto'd given her, and either fixed, improved, or rejected them outright. The most important one, the one to seal Zetsu into her tanto, had been one he'd both fixed _and_ improved on. All the while cursing his future self for not teaching Naruto fuinjutsu more, and also Naruto, for not having quite the knack for it that his parents and forebears had.

The second most important one was one that he'd rejected, and then had rebuilt from scratch. Sakura had learned _so much_ about seals in the years she and Jiraiya had spent hunting down Zetsu, she was now just as good as he was at it. That had even allowed her to make adjustments to her own seal, which she'd turned into two seals, without even altering its appearance at all. Of course, her yin seal was hidden under the constant henge she had applied, fed by a constant trickle of chakra, just as her shishou had done for hiding her age.

Right now, Sakura was a brown haired, doe eyed woman she'd met from Iron during the Fourth War, who'd been a part of the medical platoon. Hikari had been by her and Shizune's side, right down until the damned mugen tsukuyomi had snatched her up. When Sakura'd left her time, Hikari and everyone else in the genjutsu had…

Sakura mentally shook herself. Now was _not_ the time to dwell on that. If she could just get her hands on that bastard Zetsu, then Hikari and the others would _never_ end up in that damned illusion! Breathing deeply, but as quietly as possible, Sakura forced herself calm. She counted backwards from ten (twice) before she opened her eyes and surveyed the sight before her.

She had known, after infiltrating the Mountain's Graveyard and lopping off Madara's head before incinerating him, that there was no way that Zetsu was going to remain there. And she was right. She'd followed the white zetsu into Earth Country, which of course had forced her to seal away her Konoha ANBU gear, and exchange it for some that were of Iwa's black ops. Deep, deep into Earth they'd gone, and now, her goal was right in front of her.

"Why are you back here?" Zetsu demanded. "I told you not to come back without an Uchiha!"

"There were too many, too many!" the zetsu whined. "We tried, _honest_! There was even one there! But he got away with some others!"

Black Zetsu growled at the grovelling zetsu before him. "Get back into the tree and regenerate," he hissed. "I need to think of a new plan."

The zetsu nodded and grovelled, before going over to melt into the husk of the juubi. Sakura watched as Zetsu followed, mumbling to himself as he stared up at the statue before him. Her tanto was already unsheathed, so that there would be no sound of metal against the scabbard. She moved closer and closer, slow and quiet. This was easy. _Too_ easy. She closed her eyes briefly and sensed several traps leading over to where Zetsu was. Disappointed, she moved back, deciding that she would wait for him to get closer to her instead.

She'd waited eight years for this moment, she could stand to wait a little while longer.

OoOoO

The following day, Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin headed back to Konoha.

Now that they were rested, Obito decided that he was going to regale his sensei with everything that had happened after he'd left them to join the front lines. From Rin's capture, to his and Kakashi's argument, and the fact that Kakashi had eventually followed to help him save Rin. Minato was quite proud of Kakashi for his newly developed sense of comradeship, even if he was quietly disappointed that he'd wanted to abandon Rin in the first place.

He'd made the right choice in the end, that was what mattered.

Obito also went on and on about the ANBU who'd helped them. He was in awe of her, Minato could tell. The ANBU… _Sakura_ … Yet when his student had described her… It _had_ to be a henge or genjutsu… There was _no way_ he'd mistaken that chakra. You can't fool a sensor without somehow drastically changing your chakra, and something like that happening was incredibly unlikely without _extreme_ circumstances.

The way she fought… Obito'd had his sharingan active, and therefore had a perfect recollection of her fighting style. It was brutal, the way she'd efficiently put the Iwa nins down, and Minato didn't really need Obito's rendition to know that. He'd seen the aftermath, after all. There was so much about Sakura that he didn't know… Jiraiya-sensei hadn't really been very forthcoming about her, other than to say that she was on a very important mission. And then of course, she'd died.

Only she _hadn't_ _…_

It took three jumps with the hiraishin to reach Konoha's gates, all with Obito chattering in between. The guard at the gate had ordered them straight up to the Hokage's office, and they'd gone straight there. Now, they were standing outside the door, and Minato raised his hand to knock.

"Come in," he heard the voice of the Hokage, and he pushed the door open. "Ah, Minato, Kakashi, Obito, Rin. I am pleased you made it back safely."

"Mission accomplished, Hokage-sama!" Obito declared with a grin. "Kannabi bridge is toast!"

"That's good to hear," the Hokage said. "I trust the mission went smoothly. Nothing unexpected or unusual?"

Obito then decided to repeat the tale he'd told Minato before, only this time, Kakashi and Rin occasionally chimed in. Sarutobi listened gravely, nodding in all the right places, and asking his own questions as well.

"It seems you had quite the adventure," he mused once the tale was told. "The ANBU… you never mentioned which mask she wore."

"Oh, it was a fox," Obito said, and Minato saw the look of surprise on the Hokage's face.

"I see," was all he said about it, though. "Well, now that you've reported in, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, you have the next week off. And you as well, Minato, unless something comes up that I need you for. Use this time wisely, and make sure your written reports for the mission are on my desk before that week is up."

"Yes sir!" Obito saluted, while Rin and Kakashi bowed.

"You're all dismissed," the Hokage said.

They all left then, and once they were outside, Kakashi seemed all set to head off on his own, but then both Rin and Obito grabbed his arms and dragged him off, with Obito going on and on about how there was no way they were letting him go back to the way he was before, so he was going to spend some quality time with his team. Minato smiled as he watched them go, with Kakashi only half-heartedly protesting. He called out to remind them to check in to the hospital at some point to be officially checked over.

Once they were gone, his smile fell and he closed his eyes briefly. He'd considered asking the Hokage about Sakura, but the surprise on his face made him think that he didn't know that Sakura was alive. Maybe? Or that he hadn't known that she'd be there? Minato let out a rough sigh of frustration.

What was he going to _do_!? He hadn't heard back yet from Jiraiya-sensei… He let out another sigh, softer this time. There wasn't anything he could do yet, not really. So he headed home, making a mental note to pick Naru up from the Inuzuka compound after he'd had a quick shower and a change in clothes.

OoOoO

Sakura stared up at the gedo mazo, her breath in short pants, her clothes a little torn, green glowing automatically to heal her wounds. Her tanto was gripped tightly in her hand, black and green ooze dripping from it. Black Zetsu was sealed away now, and several of the white ones lay dead around her. Taking them out had been easy, she knew how to fight them after all. But Zetsu himself had been that bit more difficult.

Stabbing the tanto into the ground, she sat and began to rummage through her pack, looking for what she needed to seal this monstrosity away in another dimension. There were nine seals, each one representing a piece of the chakra it had been divided into by the Sage all those centuries ago. Naruto and Kurama had come up with the idea, and she and Jiraiya had refined it over the last seven and a half years that they'd been working towards this together.

Once she found them, she quickly set them around the statue, with the tanto in the sealing circle that formed. She formed all thirty six hand signs necessary to activate all the seals, then leapt back as everything in front of her lit up in a golden light. That light ended up so bright, that she had to shield her eyes, and when it died down, the statue and the tanto were all gone.

Sakura let out a sob of relief and slumped to the floor. It was over, it was _done_. She tucked her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs as she just let herself cry. Her sobs wracked her body, causing her to shake in distress. Every emotion that she'd kept bottled up all this time came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

She had no idea how long she sat there, weeping. But eventually her tears dried and she felt exhaustion wash over her. Even though Zetsu and the statue were gone, Sakura refused to fully relax in this place, and it was with that thought that she made her way out of there, legs shaky as she stumbled along, finally, _finally_ able to say that it was truly over and done.

OoOoO

Jiraiya was in Taki with a squadron that had been assigned as a 'diversion' for the Kannabi mission when he felt it. The small seal on his wrist that had its twin on Sakura's, the one that she would activate _only_ for an emergency, or when she finally sealed Zetsu and that statue away. (he hoped it was the latter) He grimaced when he realised that he wasn't going to be able to get to her just yet.

"What is it?" a smooth voice asked, and Jiraiya glanced over to his team mate and friend, Orochimaru.

"Nothing," he said, and at Orochimaru's quirked eyebrow, insisted, "Nothing! Really! I just remembered that after all of this, I need to go meet up with a contact, that's all."

True enough, and Orochimaru seemed mollified by that. Jiraiya frowned as his team mate moved away, thinking over everything Sakura had told him about the dark path his friend was likely already headed down. He wanted to save him, to make him see that he was wrong, but Zetsu had been a priority this whole time. Yet he knew that Sakura wanted to deal with Orochimaru, and a whole lot of other things as well, once her main mission was completed.

A poof of smoke, then a toad was in front of him. It was Gamataka, one of Minato's main messenger summons. "Yo! Jiraiya-sama!" the amphibian greeted. "Minato sent me to tell you that he wants to have a word with you."

"Uh-huh," Jiraiya said. "Did he say why?"

"He started to, but then just said to tell you he needs to speak with you," Gamataka told him. "Boy seemed a bit distressed, almost as if he'd seen a ghost or something."

Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. "Well, tell him I'll talk to him when I get back to the village," he said. "I don't know when that will be, because I'll be going to meet a contact of mine as soon as I can. Oh, and when you tell him that, do you think you could give the Hokage a message? Tell him these exact words, 'Spring and Time have met.' Can you do that?"

"Well, if that ain't cryptic," Gamataka groused. "Sure, sure, I can do that. Anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"See ya then!"

Jiraiya let out a great sigh, then glanced over to see Orochimaru looking at him oddly. He sighed again, then plastered on a grin, striding over to his friend, already thinking of what reason he could use to get out of there right away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a mission meant to end the war takes place, a woman thought dead reappears. Her own mission is still incomplete, but can she redeem her current failures and stop a great evil from being reborn? And will she be able to return to a waiting family, one that she’d left behind? MinaSaku. Sequel to An Exchange & Truth and Consequence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So I finally have a new chapter done. Yay! :)
> 
> We have to move house. Ick!

It took too long, in his opinion, to finally track her down, and once he had, the reason why he'd had so much trouble finding her became apparent.

"For Kami's sake, Sakura," Jiraiya muttered. "Just how much chakra did you use? It better have been worth it."

She was slumped against a tree, heavily wounded with barely enough chakra to survive. Her henge was gone, so he was privy to the rare sight of the rhombus that adorned her forehead, as well as a few scars visible outside her clothing. She'd kept the seal hidden almost since the moment she'd landed back here in time, to avoid causing any sort of ruckus, she'd told him. After all, only Tsunade was supposed to have mastered this seal at this point in time.

He knelt next to her, fumbling in his pack for a soldier pill. "Sakura," he called. "Sakura, can you hear me? …No response, hmm…"

Jiraiya forced her mouth open then, and popped in the soldier pill he'd pulled out. He used a basic technique that all shinobi were taught (whether they were successful at learning it or not, though it'd helped he'd had Tsunade on his gennin team) to force her to automatically swallow the pill. Her body jerked and she choked, but the pill was swallowed.

Jiraiya then carefully picked her up, turning around and heading in the direction of the border. They were currently in Waterfall, mere minutes from the border to Fire at shinobi speed. He kept a sharp eye out for trouble, even well after they'd crossed the border back into 'friendly' territory. There was no telling if any enemy shinobi had managed to do the same. The nearest outpost he knew of was much further in, and it took a little over an hour to reach it. When he did, he gave the pass-code, and handed Sakura over to the medic in charge.

Half an hour later, and Sakura was sleeping soundly, her injuries healed. Jiraiya had had to swear the medic to secrecy about the seal on Sakura's forehead, and he knew that she wasn't going to be happy that someone saw it. But there was no way he was going to regret bringing her here. Sighing, Jiraiya claimed a cot and slept, waking hours later to find that Sakura still hadn't awoken. In fact, she ended up sleeping for fourteen hours before there was any sign of her stirring. By then, her seal had vanished under the henge she'd trained into her chakra network.

Her rousing wasn't gentle by any means. Sakura jolted up in the cot, clutching at her chest (an old wound from before she'd come back, apparently) and gasping for air. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, before they landed on him, and she started calming. Jiraiya gave her a moment, before he moved over to sit next to her cot.

"Jiraiya," she said after a bit.

"Sakura," he deadpanned, earning a twitch of an eyebrow. He lost his serious look, and grinned. "Well?"

"…It's done," she told him, and he sighed in relief. "Zetsu's sealed into the tanto, and he and the juubi husk are in another dimension."

"Never to return…" Jiraiya mused. "Finally! How long have we been hunting that damned thing down?"

"Seven years…" Sakura murmured. "Eight for me, though."

"Heh, remember when we met?" Jiraiya mused. "Or rather, when I met you."

Sakura snorted. "You thought I was a Kiri spy," she remembered. "Though that didn't stop you trying to hit on me."

"What?!" Jiraiya defended. "I appreciate beauty, no matter the allegiance! And besides, you _were_ dressed in a Kiri nin uniform. Hardly my fault."

"And you make a habit of hitting on seventeen year old girls, do you?" Sakura asked teasingly.

"Of course not!" Jiraiya huffed. "Even though the legal age is fifteen for shinobi, as you well know. And civilian families used to marry their daughters out at thirteen, or even twelve, I'll remind you!"

"A _century_ ago!" Sakura argued, then frowned. "How the hell did we get on this topic?" she asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he said. "My point still stands. You were legal, and that's all that matters."

Sakura whacked him over the head as hard as she could, but she hadn't fully recovered yet, so it lacked its usual force.

"So, tell me what happened," he said a moment later, and he listened as Sakura launched into a lengthy tale about tracking a zetsu into Earth country, her fight with Zetsu, and the sealing of the tanto and the juubi husk. He asked her so many questions about the seal, he was pretty sure she was annoyed by it. But she still answered him anyway.

"So how did you get so injured?" he asked.

Sakura sighed. "I was ridiculously low on chakra," she said. "I was confronted by an Iwa patrol, outed as a foreigner, and they attacked. I barely made it out of there. My lack of chakra meant my healing was crawling at a snail's pace, but eventually, I collapsed against a tree and passed out."

"That's where I found you," Jiraiya said. "This outpost is a day out from the village. Are you… we're headed back there, right? Or was there something else you needed to do? I know that you wanted to deal with some in-village issues once Zetsu was dealt with. Like Danzou and… Orochimaru."

Sakura sighed, and Jiraiya cursed the uncertain tone he'd had when mentioning his team mate and friend. He'd naturally been horrified to learn what Orochimaru had done, was already doing at this point. Hadn't wanted to believe it at first. But maybe… maybe if they dealt with Danzou, then perhaps…?

"I probably should go back," Sakura spoke, interrupting her thoughts. "I mean, I want to see Naru again, of course. It's been so long, I've really missed her."

"We can do that," Jiraiya agreed. "And we can remove the seal on her memories finally."

They'd put a seal on Naru's memories, so that she wouldn't know that her mother was alive. Sakura had painstakingly explained it to her, leaving the choice of using it up to the little girl. She'd refused to otherwise, so when Naru agreed, Jiraiya had readied the seal, and applied it when he was nearly at Konoha back then. Naru was so smart for a brat her age, if Sakura hadn't told him otherwise, he'd really believe that she was Minato's kid.

Speaking of… "What about Minato?" Jiraiya asked. "Have you missed him?"

Sakura gave him a 'where-the-hell-is-this-coming-from?' look. "Why is that relevant?" she asked, her tone lightly dismissive, but after all these years, Jiraiya felt he knew her well enough to realise that she…

"It's a valid question," he said. "As the 'father' of your child, I would expect you would have at lest thought of him every now and then."

Sakura looked away briefly, then stood from the cot. "Where are my things?" she asked. "We should get going."

"Sakura…" Jiraiya said warningly as he also stood.

She ignored him, grabbing her pack that she'd spotted, opening it to rummage through and check everything was still there. She wasn't going to answer, he realised, so he decided he'd talk instead.

"Each time I went back to the village, before your 'death', Minato always asked about you," he said, noting how Sakura's movements stiffened. "I've already told you, he and Kushina didn't make up, that relationship's wrecked now. She's moved on, though they have at least repaired their friendship. But I know he still thinks of you, even after you'd 'died'."

She was shaking slightly now, and a ragged sigh full of emotion escaped her. She turned to him, and he saw the grief in her eyes.

"I've really fucked up," she admitted. "I swore, before I came back here, that I was going to save everyone. I looked Naruto and Sasuke in the eyes and _promised_ them… And Kakashi-se-sensei," she stuttered out that last bit. "He made me promise that no matter the cost, that… that…"

She started crying in earnest now, and swearing at himself, Jiraiya came forward and hugged her, careful not to set off any violent impulses as he patted her back and spoke the obligatory, "There there."

"I-I've f-fucked up!" Sakura wailed through her sobs. "I t-told myself it d-didn't matter, as l-long as Z-Zet-su was g-gone and Kaguya couldn't come back! But I-I…"

"Hush now," Jiraiya said, then released his grip as Sakura pushed him away and determinedly went back to checking her pack. "Look, you can't change what's already happened, at least, not without going back in time again," Sakura let out a snort at that, "so you need to move forward with what you have."

Sakura nodded, finishing up with her pack as she turned back to him. "Thanks," she said, then grinned softly. "I guess you really can be wise and insightful every now and then if you try."

Jiraiya snorted. "There's a sign of the Hime I know and love," he said, and then _she_ let out a snort at that. "Though I'm a little hurt. In all this time, you never mentioned that Kakashi, that annoying, uppity little Hatake brat, was your sensei."

Sakura sighed. "There's a _lot_ that I haven't told you," she admitted. "And there's some things…" She sighed. "I'm a liar, you know? I mean, of course I lie, I'm a shinobi, that's often a part of what we do, but… You know what? Never mind. You're right, we should go back to Konoha."

Jiraiya wondered what lies she was talking about, but let it be. Whatever they were, her lies and secrets were hers to keep. He respected that. After all, he had his own secrets that he didn't tell people.

"You need to get yourself checked over by Iwata," he told her, elaborating at her look, "The medic on base. You were pretty banged up, and you're still quite low on chakra, so…"

Sakura sighed, but nodded, and the two went off to find Iwata.

OoOoO

The village hidden in the leaves was entering twilight when Minato sensed Jiraiya's chakra approaching. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin were with him, as was Naru. He left Naru in their care, with strict instructions, before he headed out towards the gate. He wanted to make sure he met his sensei at the gate, rather than having to search through the village for him at a later date.

Once at the gate, he struck up an easy conversation with the guards to pass the time. Jiraiya-sensei was moving a little slower than his normal speed, making him wonder if he was injured. After a while, another chakra began to tickle at his senses, making him suppose that his sensei was travelling with someone who was possibly chakra depleted? Or maybe even injured. It was too small for him to identify just yet, but as it got closer, he should know if it was familiar or not.

And when that happened… Minato froze, stopping mid-sentence to stare out at where he could now sense _Sakura_ was with Jiraiya. He was panicked, wanting to bolt, yet unable to move. She was coming here, _with Jiraiya-sensei_. Why was he reacting like this? He _wanted_ to see her, to get _answers_.

"Minato?" a voice cut through his panic. "Oi, Minato! You alright?"

Minato turned to the gate guard, whose name was Kenji, and forced a smile on his face. "Yeah, sorry," she said a bit sheepishly. "It's just, there's someone coming with Jiraiya-sensei that I… Well, I haven't seen them in four years."

Kenji nodded understandingly, and rather perceptively didn't try to start up a conversation again. Minato watched and watched the path out of the village, until the sight of Jiraiya appearing out from among the trees was before him. But Sakura wasn't… Ah, there she was. She was on Jiraiya's back, being carried.

"Minato," Jiraiya greeted when he stood before him. "Fancy seeing you here."

He didn't sound the least bit surprised at seeing him there, he knew Minato was a sensor after all, and wanted to see him from the summons he'd sent. "Sensei," he greeted, then looked up to see the sleeping face of the woman who… of… well, of Sakura. "I think we all need to talk, wouldn't you agree?"

Jiraiya sighed, but nodded. "Where to?" he asked, putting the ball in Minato's court, which he both resented and appreciated.

"My place," he decided, because at least then it would be just that little bit harder for Sakura to run away from him, especially with Naru there.

"Lead the way," was all Jiraiya said.

When they arrived, it was to find Rin waiting for them. "Naru's asleep, sensei," she said, eyes wide at the sight of Jiraiya and the sleeping Sakura. "Just ten minutes now."

Minato nodded. "Thank you," he said. "I'll see you all for lunch tomorrow."

Rin nodded, and with a last glance at Jiraiya and his burden, she left.

"Your room or the couch?" Jiraiya asked.

"My room," Minato said. "I doubt I'm going to be using it any time tonight."

Minato led the way, then Jiraiya lowered Sakura gently to the bed, a look of fondness on his face that made Minato feel an irrational flash of jealousy. He pushed it away determinedly as his sensei wiped his hand over his face in obvious fatigue.

"Where has she been?" Minato asked.

"Hunting down the perpetrator of the greatest tragedy in the history of the world," he was told. "No, really kid. When she wakes, we'll tell you all about it. In the meantime… I need to remove a seal from Naru."

Minato stiffened. "There's a seal on my daughter?" he asked, unable to hide a slightly dangerous tone to his voice.

"Yes," Jiraiya said simply, yet defiant. "It's a memory seal. It kept her from remembering that her mother was alive. Oh, don't give me that look! Sakura explained it to Naru, and left the choice completely up to her."

"That doesn't make it any better!" Minato practically hissed. "She's just a child, and you…!"

"Just leave it," Jiraiya interrupted in a no nonsense tone that took him by surprise. "Look, I'm going to go remove the seal, you… You just stay here, and _don't_ wake Sakura, alright? She needs the sleep."

His sensei left, and Minato turned back to look at the woman that had, in one form or another, haunted his life since he'd met her. Sometimes, he regretted the impulse that had led him to bedding her in that inn, and other times he was glad it had happened, no matter the chaos in his life that had followed. Then, after she'd showed up with Naru in tow, he'd often regretted not trying harder to make her stay, even more so when he'd learned of her supposed death.

And after sensing her chakra on that mission? He was angry with her, so, so angry, but… He was also glad. Glad that she was alive, that there was a chance she could come home, be there for Naru, and hopefully himself. Minato couldn't deny, a part of the reason (though obviously not all of it) that he'd never reconnected with Kushina, had been Sakura. And Naru, of course. His daughter had come first, once he'd had her home, of course.

He sighed, staring down at the blossom sleeping upon his sheets. Minato sat on the bed next to her, careful not to jostle her awake, and reached out to lightly brush back a few strands of hair that had fallen across her face. She sighed lightly, her eyelids fluttered open briefly, and then closed once more. She muttered some unintelligible words, but then one stood out, whispered softly and with affection.

"Minato."

His heart thudded in his chest.


End file.
